That was the ruling of the US District Court for the
Southern District of New York.
The employee had claimed retaliation on the part of his
former employer. But, due to the employer’s decision months
before the benefits claim not to renew his employment
agreement, the retaliation charge was void, the court
said, according to Washington-based legal publisher
BNA.

The court also dismissed two other claims made by the
employee.
The employee’s claim for breach of fiduciary duty under
ERISA Sections 404(a)(1) and 409 was dismissed.
The other claim thrown out by the court was the
employee’s argument that the company allegedly failed to
compensate him for overtime hours worked in violation of
the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Since this claim was filed more than three years
after the alleged violation, the court ruled that too much
time had passed for it to be considered.

Additionally, the court ruled equitable tolling did
not apply in this case. This decision stemmed
from the employee having legal counsel present at the
original negotiations on his employment contract in 1998,
and thus, full access to his legal
rights.